Doctor Who

[Shrooblord]

I just watched Episode 2: [Into the Dalek].

[I still noticed the tendency to overexplain things a bit script-wise, but it wasn't as bad as in the first episode. I'm sure I'll get used to the new mindset the writers are putting themselves in as they're writing for new characters.

I'm intrigued about the Heaven subplot and would love to see where it leads. It raises some interesting questions indeed.

What I liked most about this episode, however, was its similarity to Dalek, one of the episodes in Ecclestone's series. There, too, a 'broken' Dalek is reanimated, and as it fights its way through morality like this one did, it encounters the Doctor's hatred of their kind. He says something along the lines of "Why can't you all just lay down and die!" to which the Dalek responds.
"You

would make a good

Dalek"

A similar, if not the exact same, thing happens in this episode and it displays my favourite interaction between the Doctor and the Daleks. On the one side, we have homicidal maniac machines that can't possibly be more difficult to sympathise with and on the other we have this man we trust, the Doctor, who seems fair but harsh, tough but loving, compassionate yet relentless. And he is posed a question: are he and the Daleks really that different? You can see it running through his head and he can come up with no reply. It works so well as a plot device and I do hope they go somewhere with it some time as opposed to dropping it into the series every now and then just to keep that experience renewed.

The difference between Dalek and Into the Dalek is that in Dalek, the creature was sincerely morally different to the others of its kind. Here, its viewpoint had just shifted from 'having to kill all non-Daleks' to 'having to kill all totally-Daleks'. I liked the anomaly from Dalek more than this one, because it truly had changed its view on life whereas this one basically started batting for the other team (no don't go there).]

Anyway, I'm already enjoying the series buckloads and I hope I don't miss out on the episode next Saturday like I did here, having to find another way to view it.

[Master]

Hmm, I'm falling behind with my thoughts. Best get them in when I can.
For now though, is it just me, or did this episode use one of older intro stings, as opposed to the one used for Deep Breath and Into the Dalek?

Just to clarify what I mean by Sting:

[Shrooblord]

I think it did. There was also that quote from Tom Baker:

The best way to find out their plans
is get yourself caught.

[Master]

Right then, I've lazed about enough, I better say what I can about "Into the Dalek" and "Robot of Sherwood," I guess I could start by saying that from the two, I preferred the Dalek ep. Sherwood was decent, but in honesty, it was a little meh, for my tastes.

Into the Dalek
I've read the "Dalek" comparisons, and I can see where they're coming from, particularly with the line "You would make a good Dalek" and "You ARE a good Dalek," though I find Rusty's take of the line to be more ambiguous in regards to the Doctor. 9's was for his brutality to the Dalek, but 12's was for his want for a good Dalek, while it could mean the same as 9, it might perhaps imply that Rusty feels his basis of hate prevents him from being truly good. But hey, that's just one interpretation, and I'm sure people will all draw their own thoughts, after all, 12 did note how Rusty locked onto the Doctor's own hatred for the Daleks.

As for the episode itself, I think it's probably the best Dalek episode of the Moffat era, I don't think the Daleks could ever be scary again, but they certainly are quite sinister, such is reflected by their internal engineering, "evil refined," as 12 stated. I'm curious though, what's happened to the 2010 Daleks, are we pretending they didn't happen now? Eesh. (Part of me is hoping for another Dalek Civil War between 2005 and 2010, in honesty)

I like how they've also begun to focus more on Clara's life away from the TARDIS too, as many did say that they weren't very keen on her just being the "Impossible Girl" from Series 7, and I think she's definitely beginning to show some development. And, to add into the mix, we've now got a Danny Pink, an ex-soldier no less. Given how 12 shows derision for soldiers in this episode so prominently, things are probably going to converge.

Robot of Sherwood
Well...perhaps it's because of how overtly light-hearted I felt it was, but I wasn't feeling it much in this episode. There were some nice parts, I liked the archery contest, nice little cameo by Patrick Troughton, and the nice parallel between Robin and the Doctor made at the end of the episode kinda grounded it back to one of the main themes of the series. Wasn't as fond of the constant bickering between Robin and the Doctor, though, I felt it overstayed its welcome as it were. Missy didn't appear in this one, but we harken back to Deep Breath with the goal of the Robots being the same as the Half-Faced Man, ongoing arc is ongoing.

Also, was it just me, or did the Sheriff look quite a bit like the bearded incarnations of the Master?

[Shrooblord]

The interactions between Robin Hood and the Doctor were the best part of the episode for me.

About the soldier thing, do you think that also means that [Jenny may return in this series]? I sure hope so.

[Master]

Right, so...Listen.

[I can't believe I'm going to say this, but...to me, it didn't really live up to the scary factor it was so heavily advertised at. I don't know why, but I just didn't find myself unnerved by the idea.

That out of the way, the episode itself was good, though I feel it was more contributive to larger themes past and present rather than its own story. We've learnt much more about Clara and Danny's relationship, and how that's coming along. But I think the big one for everyone is the Doctor, and how he came to come by his "never cruel nor cowardly" mantra. In honesty, I'm on the fence about it, it's a nice way to tie up that thread from DOTD, and a nice pointer to it too. But there's just something that doesn't seem right about reaching that far back, and I can't say I was completely keen on how the Doctor himself seemed to be more on the sidelines, and it was more Clara who was the main focus.

I think I ought to rewatch this one, as I feel I'm missing something.]

I'm kinda curious to hear Spiral's thoughts on the actual episode itself, as he was pretty impressed by the leaked script of it.

[Master]

Hmm, never did get anyone else's thoughts on Listen. Guess it was as shock-inducing to everyone else as well?

As for the next two, Time Heist was a good episode. I don't think anything really stood out about it per se, but I think it's a definite improvement over the last episode its writer wrote, that being Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS.

And then, we got The Caretaker. [Doctor meets Danny]. I'm undecided on what to make of 12's [extreme dislike for soldiers], but I guess we'll learn more as it comes along. Other than that, another good episode, I must say, I'm really liking Series 8 over Series 7, this might just top Series 5 as my favourite series of NuWho.

[Shrooblord]

I agree in that this series is far more interesting to watch than the others have been before it. I adore Tennant's series and Smith's was great too, but there's so much artistic feel they're going for in this series. Take Into the Dalek for example. When they [enter the Dalek's eye stalk and there's that whole spacy swimming scene and then there's the slow pan-zooms through the eyestalk's nerve pathways], it gets all floaty and out there, something that other Doctors' series simply could not have pulled off. This is what I like about a change in Doctors: not only the Doctor's personality changes, but the identity of the whole show changes with him.

The way Capaldi portrays the Doctor and the way that conversations are given the time and space to progress as normal conversations reminds me a lot of the older Doctor Who episodes of, say, Tom Baker's era. And I like it!

Eagerly awaiting this Saturday's installment, though I won't be able to view it until the day after it airs.

[Shrooblord]

I didn't like this Sat's episode. [I liked its premise, I liked the main idea of the story and the message it tried to convey, but the ending, I did not. What this means for the rest of the series, I'm not sure (though I can guess), but I'm pretty sure it doesn't bode well.]

[Master]

Hmm, I watched this during a trip yesterday, but I didn't really get a proper feel for it due to the circumstances. Think I'll give it a rewatch on iPlayer now and assess it once more.

[Shrooblord]

Damn iPlayer and its UK exclusivity! Good for the Britons (Scots, Welsh, Irish, w/eishes) though.

[Master]

I believe iPlayer's exclusivity has something to do with the TV License fee that's paid, but it's probably little more involved than that.

I still need to give my thoughts for Kill the Moon, but I'm in a rush at present, so I'll hold off for now. Instead, I'll just leave this:

[Master]

Well, I've been musing over it for the last couple of days, and the best I can say is...meh.
[In all fairness and honesty, the last episodes I said that to, were pretty decent regardless, just nothing I found to be all that spectacular. Kill the Moon, on the other hand, well, I think it's a bit like the whole Rayman's hair being a bunch of parasites. Done right, it might've been a decent shtick, but done wrong just makes it somewhat cringeworthy.

The next time trailer made a huge deal about these Spider germs, and I was kinda hoping to be somewhat creeped out by them, but...nothing. I don't know why, I don't like Spiders, so when you've got spiders which look like Alien with 8 legs, why aren't they working? Not a major plot point, but something that kinda disappointed me.

The whole moon gaining mass and egg thread was too out there for my tastes, I get Doctor Who has erred towards being more Science-Fantasy then Science-Fiction, but this just seemed odd either ways. To each their own, but not for me.

The supporting actors were good, I must admit, nothing more I can really say there.

The big point of this episode was that final fall-out between Clara and the Doctor, which was well acted, I must admit. However, I wish it were more gradually built too, there was some build up, but I feel it wasn't quite enough. Still, it's a powerful step forward for the impending end of Series 8, so let's see what happens.
]

Also, before I forget, it appears after the sting has fluctuated between 2014 and Classic, they're now just playing them together.

[Shrooblord]

I think your the problem you noticed but couldn't lay your finger on exactly is the lack of suspense. What they did extremely well before it but failed to do so in this episode is great camera work and shots. There was no visible buildup or play of focus to get you into a false sense of security before they came out with the horrors of the dark.

And for the Space Fantasy thing - I didn't like how that played out. The concept I found great, but how, then, when the moment was there, it happened and then it just flew off and boom there's a new... it was just plain weird. Frankly, everything in this episode felt rushed and gasping for more screentime.

[Master]

Hmm, that might be so indeed. Still, even if KtM wasn't to my liking, Series 8 has still been remarkably strong. (Though I'm still waiting on what you folks thought of Listen, that's the one that really caused some ripples in continuity and mythology building).

[Shrooblord]

How come, exactly? In the end, it all boiled down to [Clara being the person who seeded the dream in the Doctor's mind. And the Doctor himself is the only one who ever really experienced the dream - when he describes that scene where you're grabbed by a hand from under the bed; only to him has that actually happened. The people you see in the montage while he talks may be fictional. What exactly breaks continuity and/or mythology in this episode]?

[Master]

I didn't mean that it broke continuity, only that it was heavily adding to it. Some weren't so fond of the additions, hence why I was curious about what other Whovians here thought.

[Shrooblord]

I loved the idea of [Clara basically defining a giant part of the Doctor's personality. Clara's an amazing character that I feel is able to get away with such life-changing events. Hell, she even went into the Doctor's broken timestream and fixed him, with great sacrifice to her own existence. But that she created that notion of fear being a superpower in the Doctor may have very well eventualised in her being there in the first place. It's a bit of one of those grandfather paradoxes to an extent - her travelling back in time to the child Doctor's bed is in fact the cause that she was able to be there and such it must always have happened. Something as signifficant as that hidden away in a lovely speech. But Clara's character is entitled to make such changes - it feels right to me for some reason. It's one of the reasons I disliked last week's episode so much - now, all of a sudden, just like that, she wants out. What the hell? We'll see what today's adventure brings].

[Shrooblord]

Last night's episode was fab. That [Clara and the Doctor virtually got to switch places was fantastic. It's good seeing Clara's character handle the situation as well as she did and also to see the Doctor being put in his place once in a while (reminding him of how he acts to get the others' trust and also showing Clara how straining that may be on the Doctor, though he does not show it)]. More strange endings though. The implications make me wonder what awaits us next week (notwithstanding that I do not watch the Next Time bits).

(Now there's a good cliffhanger strategy.)

[Master]

Well, it appears there's two eps to write for.

MotOE and Flatline were probably some of the strongest episodes in the series thus far, I didn't like how MotOE jumped so quickly from the KtM incident (though I still am not fond of how KtM was anyways), but other than that a nice mystery episode.

I was a bit nervous seeing the previews and how it was going "Clara Who," but Flatline as an episode itself dealt with it pretty well, it was interesting to see how the Doctor reacted to how well Clara recreated him. The monster concept was very well done indeed, I didn't find them too scary, but the whole concept was unnerving.

These two episodes were written by the same new writer, Jamie Mathieson. And I have to say, he's got in good, I'd love to see more of his work in Doctor Who, as he's made a great entrance here.